Just Looking
by LLF
Summary: Abby and Luka.....of course


**Waking Up……**

Abby Lockhart came awake slowly. Her head was resting on his forearm and her fingers were clasped in his. She frowned slightly and turned her head to look beside her. She smiled a bit as she saw his sleeping face on the pillow.

Luka.

She shifted herself carefully under the covers and turned to look at him. His dark hair fell across his forehead and his dark brows were slightly furrowed as he frowned a bit in his sleep. What was he thinking? Her smile widened slightly as she examined his thick dark lashes….his long straight nose and thin lips. His cheeks and chin were covered with the slightest dark beard stubble. He'd shaved in the shower last night. For her. She tried to discern a whiff of the citrusy spicy smell of the after shave he usually used but couldn't. Instead it was the clean, fresh smell of soap…..and him. The groove on his cheek deepened as he grimaced in his sleep and she could see the beginnings of the dimple that came at the slightest hint of a smile. She studied the thick, ropy muscles of his neck and where they joined his shoulder. Her eyes traveled down his arm where he held the bedsheets at his waist. His long fingers were relaxed and spread across his covered hip, the nails clean and trimmed short. He'd wrapped one long leg and foot on top of the sheet and she lifted her head a bit to study the sinewy muscles. She knew he wasn't a workout kind of guy but there wasn't a spare ounce of fat anywhere on his frame. His long toes curled a bit and she carefully settled back into the pillows against his arm. She rubbed her cheek gently against the skin there and drifted back to sleep. Sometimes a moment like this was the most comforting and satisfying.

Just looking.

Luka rolled over in his bed and opened his eyes slowly. He smiled slightly as he took in the tousled dark hair that spread across the pillow next to his. He sniffed and then took a deep breath of the flowery scent of the conditioner she used on her hair and the lotion she used on her skin.

Abby.

She was on her side, facing away from him, and he sighed softly as his eyes traced the delicate curved shell of her ear and down her slender neck line to her soft shoulder. Tiny tendrils of hair curled slightly along the hairline on the back of her neck, his favorite place to sneak a kiss when she was sleeping. The thin strap of her navy camisole top marred the creamy skin of her shoulder and he longed to slip it down. Instead he rested his chin on his folded arm and continued his search. His dark eyes traveled down her slender arm to the elbow that was bent where her arm rested just above the curve of her waist. The bed sheets were tucked under her arm and she had pulled them snugly close to her. His smile widened a bit has he took in the gentle curve of her waist and the rise of her hips under the sheet. Her knees were bent and he could feel her toes curved slightly over his own knee where they sought warmth.  
She stirred and raised her arm, pressing the back of her hand to her cheek as she stretched in the bed next to him. She rolled over onto her back and turned her head on the pillow. She folded her hands together over her stomach. Her eyes opened and she shut them again, frowning at the sunlight coming in through the blinds on the window. She wrinkled her nose and then cracked her eyes open again and smiled a bit as she saw him.  
"Hi," she said in a husky morning voice. "What are you doing?" Luka shrugged and grinned.  
"Just looking."

**Breakfast…..**

Abby was sitting at the counter watching him. He snuck a glance or two and grinned to himself. She wasn't doing such a good job at pretending to read. Her hair was caught back in a loose pony tail, dark bangs curling a bit over her forehead. She blew a bit of breath upward to fluff them out of her eyes. Maybe it was time for a trim? She was wearing a brown tee over a pink one, the sleeves folded and cuffed just above her elbow. He knew she was wearing brown slacks that matched. After breakfast she would be off to the el for the quick ride to the hospital. She was already wearing her sunglasses propped up on top of her head. He glanced back at her and caught a quick glimpse of the dimple that flashed in her cheek. He didn't see that too often and it delighted him when he did. Her tongue came out and traced her lips ever so slightly as she 'read' and he shook his head and suppressed a smile.

Luka was scrambling eggs in a pan over the burner on the stove. She sat at the counter with the morning paper open in front of her and watched him work as she pretended to read. He was grinning slightly as he cooked. She watched the navy blue tee shirt as it stretched and loosened over his shoulders while he whisked eggs in the pan. He'd just showered so his dark hair was slicked back and combed to the side. It was getting a little long in the back she noticed. Maybe she could talk him into letting her give him a trim later. The tee shirt trailed over the elastic waistband of a pair of navy sweats. She lifted her head and peered over the counter at the way the sweats clung to his flank muscles when he opened the refrigerator and bent over to get an orange out of the fruit drawer. She smiled a little when she saw that he was barefoot. She sat back and shifted the paper and reread the headline for the umpteenth time. Luka took a sharp knife from a drawer and cut the orange into quarters and put two pieces on each plate on the counter in front of him. He furrowed his brows and then nodded ever so slightly as he slipped some sliced strawberries next to the oranges. He added some grilled cinnamon toast and a serving of steaming scrambled eggs from the pan to a plate and set it in front of her. He raised one eyebrow and gazed at her intently. She surveyed the plate with a smile and nodded. Then her hand reached for it. He grimaced and shook his head as she picked up the ketchup bottle and opened it. She squirted a little on her eggs and finally looked up at him.  
"What?" she said as she raised her shoulders. He chuckled and finished preparing his own breakfast plate….without ketchup. Luka shook his head.  
"Just looking….."

**Arrival……..**

Luka shook his umbrella off as he reached the shelter ambulance bay doors and looked up at the falling rain. It was coming down from a gray sky in soaking sheets. The ambulance bay was almost as dark as night. He stepped inside and nodded at Jerry and glanced at the very full triage area. He wrapped long fingers around the umbrella and headed toward the lounge. He stopped short when he saw her and a soft smile snaked across his face.

Abby was standing in the front corridor studying an x-ray on the board. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was positioned in that funny little way she had when she was thinking hard. Her shoulders were back and her hips thrust slightly forward as she leaned away from the board to see every angle. Her brow was furrowed and her lips pursed forward. Fine lines creased the corners of her eyes. He studied the profile of her face, her dark bangs and the long, shining hair that was still pulled back into a snug ponytail. His eyes traced the lines of the white lab coat that she wore over her green scrubs. She straightened and put her hands on her hips with the lab coat flowing behind them. The scrub shirt clung to her breasts a bit and was tucked into the waistband of the pants. She leaned forward and looked at a small corner of the x-ray a little closer. She turned her head a bit and then caught sight of him. She smiled. She tipped her head toward the x-ray and shrugged her shoulders.

Abby watched Luka approach and her throat tightened with emotion. He was wearing his favorite blue shirt and navy tie under his long, dark all weather coat. She smiled a bit when she saw that he'd worn his dark sneakers with his black slacks. He stopped beside her and she looked up at him as he turned to the lighted board she had been studying. Rain drops still clung to his shoulders and he leaned in to look at the same spot she had found. A strand of dark hair fell across his forehead. His hair was a little long around his ear and she almost reached up to tuck it out of the way. Definitely time for a trim. His brows furrowed and his eyes moved over the board as his straight nose almost touched it. His cheeks were smooth and clean shaven. Long creases, that dimpled so easily when he smiled, cut into his face as he tightened his lips in thought. He started to smile and tapped a long finger at the spot she had found herself. He'd found the tiny nick in the patient's bowel just as she had. It had been leaking and making her sick since the initial surgery weeks ago. He straightened and started to speak when he turned and found her looking at him.

"What?" Luka said as he looked at her. Abby snapped the x-ray from the board and grinned.

"Just looking…" she said as she headed toward a nearby exam room.

**Work**

Abby sighed and stepped aside as the back doors of the ambulance flew open and a paramedic jumped down. She listened intently as the 'bullet' was presented and smiled down at the Asian face of the 12 year old boy strapped to the back board. A rollover car accident. A sister with an ankle injury. The parents were following. She reassured him and pressed the diaphragm of her stethesope to his chest as his gurney was wheeled into the ER. Chuny followed them into the exam room and watched as Abby eased off the stained gauze sponges that covered the boy's right eye. She brushed aside the thick dark hair that fell across his forehead and surveyed the cuts above and below his eye. Chuny nodded as Abby ordered a facial x-ray series and CT scan. The nurse turned away to place the call to radiology and Abby surveyed the cuts again. She glanced up to see Luka carrying a little girl in a green soccer uniform into the exam room next door. She smiled softly as she saw him talking to the Asian girl very animatedly about her uniform when he sat her on the exam table. She loved watching him with kids. He turned around for something from the tray and then was visibly dismayed as the little girl started screaming. Abby hurried out of the room to the door of the next exam room.

Luka glanced at her, grimaced and shrugged his shoulders as he held up the surgical scissors in his hand. Cries of 'not my soccer shoes!' brought a grin from him and he turned back the little girl. Abby chuckled as she listened to him adamantly reassure his patient as he snipped away the laces of the tight shoe on her foot. His fingers were gentle as he eased the shoe off her foot and slid the sock off. Abby looked up as a man and a woman hurried toward her. She smiled and began to speak.

Luka watched her out of the corner of his eye as he continued to examine the swollen ankle of his patient. Abby was calm and carefully explained to the parents what was happening with their children. Her brown eyes carried the message she was trying to convey, her brows furrowing and relaxing as she spoke. Her arms were folded across her chest and she smiled. Their faces relaxed immediately. Lord but she was good with overwrought parents. He grinned as she tipped her head and studied the Mother's forehead. She led them into the exam room where their son was waiting on the bed to be taken to x-ray. She crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a cold pak bag. She squeezed it to release the chemical cooling agents inside and held it on the mother's forehead as she continued to talk. They glanced into the room where he was working with their daughter and he nodded. Luka took the cold pak that Dori handed him and wrapped it around the little girl's ankle. After asking Dori to set up an ankle series with radiology, he put the precious soccer shoe and sock in the little girl's lap and then lifted her in his arms. He carried her into the room where her parents were waiting with her brother. He sat her carefully on the edge of the gurney that held her brother.

Abby's eyes never left his face has he explained about ankle injuries and broken bones. He reassured them that he didn't think they were dealing with a break but a slight sprain. His eyes were twinkling as he tweaked the little girl's nose and told her she would have to miss a game or two but would be playing again in no time. He patted the arm of the boy on the bed and asked which team he had watched during the World Cup games.

A transporter arrived from radiology and they stepped aside as the gurney was pulled from the room. Dori pushed a wheel chair behind the rolling bed and Luka settled the little girl in the seat. He made sure she was holding on to her soccer shoe and rested his hand on her head for a moment before Dori pushed the chair to the elevator with the parents following them. He watched them go a little wistfully.

Luka looked down just as Abby looked up at him.

"What?" he asked. Abby chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh...I know," he said as he nudged her shoulder. "Just looking?"

**Shopping**

Abby yawned wearily as she pushed the shopping cart ahead of her. Luka had stopped so the cart bumped him the back. He turned around and frowned a bit. She shrugged and tossed a box of cereal into the cart. Luka shook his head when he saw the colorful box and with a disapproving frown slipped a container of oatmeal in next to it. She grinned as he turned back to the food shelves and added a few staples to the basket...flour, sugar, cooking oil...ketchup. He examined everything carefully for dates and ingredients. She waited till he wasn't watching and slipped a box of strawberry pop tarts under her cereal choice. Luka turned and cast a wary eye in her direction. Abby just smiled innocently and raised her eyebrows. She pushed the cart behind him as he rounded the end of the aisle and headed for the produce section. Abby stopped to take a deep breath. It smelled so earthy and fresh. Luka was picking through a huge pile of tomatoes and slipped a couple into a bag. She picked up a round melon and held it to her nose. It was heavy and rough and succulent. She took a deep whiff and closed her eyes. Delicious.

Luka looked around for their cart and saw Abby holding a ripe melon to her nose. He grinned a little as he saw her sniffing and shook his head. Usually she was following behind him impatiently. Her hair had fallen out of it's pony tail clip long ago and now spilled over her shoulders. He watched as she placed the melon in their cart and then looked around for him. Their eyes met and she smiled. She pushed the cart toward him and she waited as he put the tomatoes and bags of carrots and potatoes into the cart. She picked up an onion and tossed it to him. He laughed and dropped it into the cart. She did the same with a green pepper and a cucumber in rapid fire order. Luka growled playfully and rounded the cart before she could pick anything else up. He grabbed her hands and pressed a kiss to her neck. Abby giggled and pushed him away. Luka laughed as they made their way to the fruits. Strawberries were in season - huge and red. They filled a container together as they picked through the ripe fruit. She chose a bag of grapes and Luka grabbed a bunch of bananas as she pushed the cart toward the dairy section.

Once again she watched impatiently as he checked the dates on milk containers and butter containers and opened the egg carton to make sure none were cracked. He worked his way through the cheese to find the kind he wanted. His face was so serious. His dark eyes were intent. He was a very careful shopper. Abby shook her head with an incredulous smile. He trusted no one when it came to their food.

They bypassed the meat department and she swung the cart though the paper goods. She grabbed toilet paper, paper towels and dish soap. He exchanged the paper towels for another brand and tapped the price sticker. She shook her head in chagrin. He selected the laundry soap and softener they normally used. She exchanged the softener for another bottle and tapped the line on the bottle that listed a different fragrance. She rolled her eyes seductively as she pushed the cart past him. Luka chuckled and shrugged as she headed toward the checkout with their cart and stopped along the way for shampoo and bath soap.

Every checkout had a line. Abby pushed their cart behind another shopper with a full cart and sighed. Luka's eyes shifted to the Starbucks counter on the other side of the checkout and tipped his head toward it. She smiled and he left her standing with their groceries while he went around the checkout area. She sighed and glanced around. Her eyes strayed to the magazine rack. She picked up a Vanity Fair for her and Esquire for Luka and put them in the basket. Then she glanced furtively around and picked up a tabloid.

Luka shook his head as he saw her flipping quickly through the tabloid magazine. He snickered and moved carefully behind her with the Starbucks cups in his hands.

"Caught you..." he growled in her ear. She jumped and thrust the magazine back in it's rack. She turned around and hit him in the chest. He grinned and held their coffee cups up so they wouldn't spill.

"Sheesh, Luka..." she protested softly. "I was just looking!"


End file.
